Battery set structure and charge/ discharge control apparatus for lithium-ion battery

- Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba

In a battery-driven portable computer, a battery pack is constituted by m battery sets connected in series each including n lithium-ion secondary battery cells connected in parallel. A voltage monitor for monitoring the voltage of the terminal electrode of each battery set and a charger for independently appropriately charging each battery set in accordance with a monitor result are arranged, thereby realizing battery driving by a lithium-ion secondary battery pack having a large capacity.

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Claims

1. An electronic apparatus, comprising:

a battery pack having:
m (m is an integer of two or more) battery sets connected in series each having n (n is an integer of two or more) rechargeable battery cells connected in parallel and charge/discharge terminals connected to nodes of the m battery sets;
charge/discharge current limiting resistors, each said charge/discharge current limiting resistor having at least a first and a second terminal, the first terminal connected to the nodes of the m battery sets and the second terminal connected to the charge/discharge terminals; and
power supply terminals;
voltage measuring circuits connected between the power-supply terminals and said charge/discharge terminals for measuring a voltage value of the m battery sets;
a power-supply microprocessor for outputting a voltage check signal of said battery pack;
amplifiers, connected to said charge/discharge terminals, for amplifying the voltage value of an integer multiple of 1/m of a total voltage value of the m battery sets;
switches connected between said amplifiers and terminals; and
a switch control circuit connected to said power-supply microprocessor and said switches and responding to the voltage check signal from said power-supply microprocessor, for turning off said switches when said voltage measuring circuits measure the voltage value of the m battery sets.
Referenced Cited
U.S. Patent Documents
3909685 September 1975 Baker et al.
4418127 November 29, 1983 Shambaugh et al.
4424491 January 3, 1984 Bobbett et al.
4484140 November 20, 1984 Dieu
4513167 April 23, 1985 Brandstetter
4675259 June 23, 1987 Totty
4879188 November 7, 1989 Meinhold et al.
4885523 December 5, 1989 Koenck
5130706 July 14, 1992 Van Steenwyk
5302902 April 12, 1994 Groehl
5304915 April 19, 1994 Sanpei et al.
5503948 April 2, 1996 MacKay et al.
5563496 October 8, 1996 McClure
5581170 December 3, 1996 Mammano et al.
5652501 July 29, 1997 McClure et al.
Patent History
Patent number: 5825155
Type: Grant
Filed: May 9, 1997
Date of Patent: Oct 20, 1998
Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Kawasaki)
Inventors: Hironori Ito (Tokyo), Yuichiro Hino (Tokyo), Naoki Tashiro (Tokyo), Masahiko Hagiwara (Tokyo), Keiichi Mitsui (Tokyo), Akihiko Uchida (Tokyo)
Primary Examiner: Peter S. Wong
Assistant Examiner: K. Shin
Law Firm: Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, L.L.P.
Application Number: 8/853,415
Classifications
Current U.S. Class: 320/16; 320/15; 320/17; 320/39; 320/40; 320/48; To Determine Plural Cell Condition (324/434); Plural Cells (429/149); With Integral Switch Means (429/150); Having Intercell Connector (429/160)
International Classification: H02J 700;